Cafe Orlin

41 Saint Marks Place, East Village, NY

7.2

map & more

Neighborhood
East Village

Cuisine
American

Nearby
Webster Hall

212-777-1447

Official Website

By Andrew Steinthal
July 14, 2010

When I’m in need of a centrally located East Village Chronic Brunch spot, Cafe Orlin is always in my back pocket. The food is consistently good – both satisfying and affordable. While there usually appears to be a crowd, the waits are never terribly long. Unlike most brunch favorites, Orlin has plenty of tables. Having lived in the neighborhood for a eight years, I’ve spent plenty of hungover mornings here scarfing down poached eggs and french toast. It’s Vegetarian friendly menu is fun for the whole clan, and it’s one of the better restaurants this city has to offer that’s open 24 hours for quality Late Night Eats. If you’re slightly deranged like myself, then the food isn’t your favorite part of Orlin. Nope, that award goes to the cross-dressing waiter dude, who seems to be assigned to my table every time. He certainly makes a statement with his belly shirts, bras and braided pig tails. Like any good trainwreck, it’s hard to look away. Homeboy! Hook some orange juice please.

Food Rundown:

Veggie Burger
I don’t do veggie burgers, but my better half is quite the aficionado and she and her friends have been freaking out over this one since they were in college at NYU over a decade ago. It must be good.

Tunisian Eggs
My personal go-to here: eggs over easy served atop sauteed spicy peppers and tomatoes with home fries and pita. If you love peppers in your eggs, this is your dream dish. If not, this aint for you.

Eggs Blackstone/Eggs Florentine
Orlin poaches a damn fine egg. My two favorites are both listed under the brunch specials: Eggs Blackstone and Eggs Florentine. The Blackstone is bacon, sauteed tomatoes, poached eggs and hollandaise. The Florentine is sauteed spinach, poached eggs and hollandaise. They’re both great and the hollandaise sauce is spot on.

Brioche French Toast
Not my favorite French Toast, but it gets the job done. I’ve had experiences here where it comes out a little dry and overcooked, so I usually skip the french toast and focus on the eggs.

Warm Mozzarella Sandwich
A fixture on their brunch, lunch and dinner menu, this fan-favorite is a scrumptious combination of portobello mushrooms, spinach and sundried tomato puree on baguette.

Hummus Plate
I’m not the hummus expert around these parts, that title goes to Stang. Kid actually bottles his own secret recipe around Christmas and gives them out to his favorite people. Be nice and you might get some this year. Anyway, the Orlin hummus is damn good, and I think even humus snobs like Stang would appreciate.

Roasted Goat Cheese Salad
All their salads are good, but this is the consensus favorite and an excellent light bite. The roasted medallions of goat cheese are quite tasty and the toasted walnuts taste like candy.